Thursday, May 23, 2013

Former Head of IRS Unit that Targeted Conservative Groups Pleads the 5th (Bonus: Others who have pleaded the 5th over the years)

The official who disclosed that the Internal Revenue Service had used inappropriate criteria to examine groups seeking tax-exempt status insisted on Wednesday that she did nothing wrong but also declined to answer questions from lawmakers, saying she did not want to incriminate herself in any future criminal proceedings.

Lois G. Lerner, who led the IRS tax-exempt unit at the center of the scandal, invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-
incrimination during an appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, saying that members of the panel had already falsely accused her of providing false information to Congress.